Al Baraka Banking Group Q4 profit up 15pc

MANAMA


Al Baraka Banking Group, the Bahrain-based Islamic lender with operations in more than a dozen countries, reported a 15 per cent rise in fourth-quarter net profit on Sunday.

The bank made a net attributable profit of $42 million in the three months ending December 31, a rise of 15 per cent on the same period of 2014, it said in a statement.

The bank's 2015 net attributable profit was $162.7 million, compared with 2014's profit of $151.7 million. This increase in earnings came despite the negative impact of a strong US dollar in many of the markets in which it operates, the statement said.

The bank's board has proposed paying a cash dividend of $0.02 per share and a stock dividend of 3 free shares for every 100 held for the year ending December 31, 2015. This compares with the $0.03 per share cash dividend and 2 free shares per 100 held it paid out in the previous year. - Reuters